Dolly Parton may have been country to her core, but for a glittering stretch of her rise to stardom, the Tennessee songbird brought a little bit of the Smoky Mountains to Fifth Avenue.<\/p>\n
Her unlikely Manhattan roommate? Her gay manager and close confidant Sandy Gallin \u2014 the powerhouse talent manager who also represented Michael Jackson and Cher \u2014 a living arrangement Parton later summed up perfectly.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019s gay \u2014 he had one end of the house and I had the other,\u201d Parton told the New Yorker<\/a> in 2009. \u201cWe were like Will and Grace.\u201d<\/p>\n Though in Parton and Gallin\u2019s version, \u201cWill\u201d apparently did the decorating.<\/p>\n Dolly Parton is pictured in her Fifth Avenue penthouse apartment in New York City in 1980. Parton was living in the city while preparing for her big-screen debut in the comedy classic, \u201c9 to 5.\u201d CBS<\/p>\n Parton\u2019s perch looked out to massive views of Central Park, which gave her a feeling of her country roots. CBS<\/p>\n For years, Parton and Gallin shared a Fifth Avenue pied-\u00e0-terre, a Manhattan home base that neither occupied full time. Vanity Fair<\/a> was still describing it as the Fifth Avenue apartment the pair shared when the magazine interviewed Parton there in 1996. <\/p>\n The apartment was reportedly at 800 Fifth Ave., a luxury rental tower overlooking Central Park at East 61st Street, where no units are presently available, according to StreetEasy.<\/p>\n And despite Parton\u2019s rhinestone-studded, larger-than-life aesthetic, the place was far more Sandy than Dolly.<\/p>\n \u201cEverything you see is Sandy\u2019s taste,\u201d Parton told the New York Times<\/a> during a 1979 visit to what the newspaper described as her New York \u201coffice-apartment.\u201d<\/p>\n The unit featured typical luxury design aesthetics of the era, such as glass tables and plush seats around them. CBS<\/p>\n The 1980s touches also include maximalist floral wallpaper in the bedroom. CBS<\/p>\n Parton said she had personally chosen only \u201cthe bed and the piano.\u201d <\/p>\n Gallin furnished the place and assembled its contemporary art collection, introducing the self-described country girl to a decidedly more highbrow Manhattan aesthetic.<\/p>\n \u201cWhat little dab of culture I have is because of Sandy,\u201d Parton later told Vanity Fair, describing the two of them as \u201cburlap and satin, Tennessee and Manhattan!\u201d <\/p>\n The aerie even appeared in a 1980 episode of CBS\u2019 \u201cCountry People<\/a>,\u201d which showed the typical trappings of luxury decorations from that era \u2014 among them round glass tables, maximal floral wallpaper and a massive cushioned headboard for her bed that made a true statement.<\/p>\n The apartment was more than a glamorous crash pad.<\/p>\n Parton and Gallin used it as a hybrid home and workplace where she could conduct business, make music and entertain industry friends without the formality of a traditional office.<\/p>\n Her bedroom featured a prominent cushioned headboard, which made an immediate statement. CBS<\/p>\n The roommates also adorned the walls with art. CBS<\/p>\n The unit was a far cry from her humble beginnings in this one-bedroom Tennessee cottage. Disney General Entertainment Content via Getty Images<\/p>\n Most of its wall space was even covered in sound-absorbing fabric, according to the Times. <\/p>\n There was just one problem: It apparently wasn\u2019t enough to contain Dolly.<\/p>\n \u201cWe play music too loud and we\u2019ll probably get thrown out that window,\u201d Parton predicted to the Times while working on a new album.<\/p>\n Parton said she respected the neighbors, but sometimes forgot about them after cranking up a track and contemplating whether it needed horns or strings.<\/p>\n Then, as she put it, she would suddenly remember that \u201cthe neighbors don\u2019t particularly want horns.\u201d <\/p>\n The shared pad also came with one amenity that made the Tennessee native feel a little more at home: Central Park.<\/p>\n From high above Fifth Avenue, Parton could look out over its sprawling greenery \u2014 a little patch of country in the middle of Manhattan. After all, she grew up in a humble two-room cabin<\/a> in the Smoky Mountains of Tennessee \u2014 a tiny home that still stands, and which she shared with her parents and 11 siblings.<\/p>\n The apartment had a record and tape player \u2014 and the walls were padded for sound protection for neighbors. CBS<\/p>\n Of course, there were also Dolly records to enjoy. CBS<\/p>\n